Looking around in Google Maps, I've noticed that a number of states seem to have a whole bunch of towns with a street named after the state in which they are located - more so in some states than in others.
As far as specific states, I've seen a lot of towns in Michigan with a Michigan Avenue, while it seems like most towns in Colorado will have a Colorado Avenue. Perhaps rather unsurprisingly, Texas Avenue makes an appearance in several Texas towns, while many places in Kansas have a Kansas Avenue.
These are the states that I've noticed appear to have a huge number of streets named for the state. Which other states seem to make the cut in this regard?
(By the way, one would think that Maine would try to take advantage of this by spelling Main Street like the name of the state; however, when I went the length of US 1 on Street View, I noticed only one Maine town - namely, Brunswick - that actually did so.)
My guess is that such states would be more likely to be out west, rather than in the east. This is because, in my estimation, there was more state-level boosterism going on, where a state like Wyoming would want to put its name wherever possible in order to attract business and people. Whereas in Rhode Island, who cares, because you're already well-populated.
Just a hypothesis....no basis in anything other than my own gut feeling.
As an aside, DC has all fifty states represented in the form of avenues in the city, ranging from the very well-known (anyone know what's at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue), to the more remote (North Dakota Ave runs for three blocks in NE DC).
I know Detroit, Saginaw, Bay City, Lansing, Jackson and Kalamazoo all have streets named Michigan. There are certainly plenty of others but those cities have Michigan as a main street in some of them.
Lots of "California" streets in California. I live about a quarter mile from one such example in Fresno.
Connecticut Avenue, although a property in Monopoly (and therefore a street in Atlantic City), as well as a major thoroughfare in DC, isn't as popular as one would think within our state. The most famous one is the stretch of US 1 through Norwalk. There is one in my town about a mile from where I live, but it is a very short street that leads into a residential area and bends around and becomes another street within a quarter mile. The rest (about half a dozen others), are not very significant
As far as Massachusetts, Mass Ave in the Boston area is a major and culturally significant thoroughfare that stretches from South Boston through the Back Bay Area into Cambridge. The name isn't as popular in the rest of the state.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 08, 2020, 02:00:45 AM
Connecticut Avenue, although a property in Monopoly (and therefore a street in Atlantic City)
I like the implication here that Monopoly properties dictate street names in Atlantic City and not the other way around.
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 08, 2020, 02:03:04 AM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 08, 2020, 02:00:45 AM
Connecticut Avenue, although a property in Monopoly (and therefore a street in Atlantic City)
I like the implication here that Monopoly properties dictate street names in Atlantic City and not the other way around.
First time I went to Atlantic City (as a kid) I noticed the street names were Monopoly streets. Then I looked it up to see that Atlantic City was the basis for the game board properties
As far as the OT, I haven't really noticed if it is common or rare to have an Illinois Ave or Illinois St within Illinois. I don't remember too many in the West Burbs growing up, but now living in Southern IL I know Du Quoin, Carbondale, and Murphysboro have Illinois Aves. I'm sure there are more across the state, but I just don't know if it is enough to make it "common"
Maryland Ave makes an appearance in several locations: Cumberland, Hagerstown, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Bethesda, Westminster, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Salisbury (possibly among others).
Indiana St/Ave/Pl exists in 10 of the state's 15 largest cities:
Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Bloomington, Hammond, Gary, Muncie, Terre Haute, Kokomo
There are many Wisconsin Streets/Avenues.
There are a number of "Pennsylvania" streets–mostly Avenues–across the state, but they tend to be incidental side streets. I can't think of any examples in the state where a Pennsylvania Ave. is a noteworthy thoroughfare. As a name, Pennsylvania is certainly nowhere near Market, High, Broad, Water, Front, tree names (Walnut, Locust, etc.), or numbers in the pantheon of street names that are commonly applied to local streets of significance in cities and towns within the state.
Actually, I'm struck more by the use of Pennsylvania to name longer or more significant streets in cities outside Pennsylvania (most notably Washington, D.C.–also Oklahoma City, Brooklyn, N.Y., Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Denver, and others). Sometimes, this is part of a pattern of state names applied to a number of streets, but this isn't always the case.
Some of the more bigger towns and cities, including Springfield, St. Louis, Jeff City, St. Robert, Columbia, and KC have a street named Missouri, most of them Avenue. In Springfield, Missouri Avenue is simply a residential north/south street.
Quote from: ozarkman417 on September 08, 2020, 01:52:18 PM
Some of the more bigger towns and cities, including Springfield, St. Louis, Jeff City, St. Robert, Columbia, and KC have a street named Missouri, most of them Avenue. In Springfield, Missouri Avenue is simply a residential north/south street.
Oddly, though, Kansas Expressway is a major north-south arterial carrying Route 13. Probably because 13→7 is the route to Kansas City, but I still thought it was a little funny when I lived there.
"Washington Street/Ave/Rd/Blvd" makes quite a few appearances in Washington State; I'd say "street" is the most common of the prefixes.
But, then again, "Washington" is one of the most common street names in the US, on account of Mr George Washington. So it's basically impossible to separate where the name is used either as a reference to the first president, or as a reference to the state name.
The best you can do is look at parallel street names to see if there's a pattern, if any. For example, a parallel road named "Lincoln", as is the case in Yakima, WA, would likely indicate the street name is after the president. But then again, that example in Yakima is the main road to the airport (KYKM; McAllister Field), so it could easily be a reference to the state name as well (as a sort of 'welcoming' for people who might have flown in from out-of-state).
There are several Minnesota streets, most prominently Minnesota St in downtown St. Paul and Minnesota Ave in Duluth.
Quote from: ilpt4u on September 08, 2020, 02:25:50 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 08, 2020, 02:03:04 AM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 08, 2020, 02:00:45 AM
Connecticut Avenue, although a property in Monopoly (and therefore a street in Atlantic City)
I like the implication here that Monopoly properties dictate street names in Atlantic City and not the other way around.
First time I went to Atlantic City (as a kid) I noticed the street names were Monopoly streets. Then I looked it up to see that Atlantic City was the basis for the game board properties
As far as the OT, I haven't really noticed if it is common or rare to have an Illinois Ave or Illinois St within Illinois. I don't remember too many in the West Burbs growing up, but now living in Southern IL I know Du Quoin, Carbondale, and Murphysboro have Illinois Aves. I'm sure there are more across the state, but I just don't know if it is enough to make it "common"
I know Chicago itself has an Illinois Street - it's one of the streets that intersects Michigan Avenue in its "Magnificent Mile" section.
There are no streets named "West Virginia Street" in West Virginia. In fact, the capital city of Charleston intentionally marks streets as Street Name 'East' or 'West' so as to avoid calling the section of Virginia Street that is west of the Elk River by the state name. Hence, it's known as Virginia Street East through downtown up to the Capitol, and Virginia Street West on the Westside. Fun fact: Charleston still claims that the 1500 block of Virginia Street East is the world's longest city block.
On the other hand, both Parkersburg and Clarksburg have streets named "Virginia Avenue" that are marked "East" or "West" such that the western sections are signed as "W Virginia Avenue". South Charleston, St. Albans, Morgantown, Moundsville, Wheeling and Weirton all have streets named "Virginia Street", none of which should be confused with the state name. I've actually driven on most of these listed, with the exceptions of Clarksburg and Weirton. Another fun fact: Virginia Street is on the Wheeling Island side of the old Wheeling Suspension Bridge over part of the Ohio River, which was the world's longest of it's type for a short spell in the mid-1800s.
Wonder how many cities here have "Carolina Street" marked as "N Carolina Street"? Or south of the border as "S Carolina Street"?
Quote from: KCRoadFan on September 08, 2020, 07:09:15 PM
Quote from: ilpt4u on September 08, 2020, 02:25:50 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on September 08, 2020, 02:03:04 AM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 08, 2020, 02:00:45 AM
Connecticut Avenue, although a property in Monopoly (and therefore a street in Atlantic City)
I like the implication here that Monopoly properties dictate street names in Atlantic City and not the other way around.
First time I went to Atlantic City (as a kid) I noticed the street names were Monopoly streets. Then I looked it up to see that Atlantic City was the basis for the game board properties
As far as the OT, I haven't really noticed if it is common or rare to have an Illinois Ave or Illinois St within Illinois. I don't remember too many in the West Burbs growing up, but now living in Southern IL I know Du Quoin, Carbondale, and Murphysboro have Illinois Aves. I'm sure there are more across the state, but I just don't know if it is enough to make it "common"
I know Chicago itself has an Illinois Street - it's one of the streets that intersects Michigan Avenue in its "Magnificent Mile" section.
The dark side of Monopoly property names is that the cheap and pretty much worthless properties like Mediterranean and Baltic were (and maybe still are, idk) streets in black neighborhoods of Atlantic City. I'm surprised there hasn't been any clamor to change the names of those properties or move them elsewhere on the board. Seems like a 2020 type of thing to me.
New York might be a candidate for least streets named after the state. To be honest, a street called "New York" would feel pretty out-of-place and out-of-touch in upstate NY given how much of a different world the city is from the rest of the state.
Quote from: webny99 on September 08, 2020, 09:12:24 PM
New York might be a candidate for least streets named after the state. To be honest, a street called "New York" would feel pretty out-of-place and out-of-touch in upstate NY given how much of a different world the city is from the rest of the state.
Let's put that to the test. Do Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Binghamton, Elmira, or any of the other major Upstate cities have a "New York Street" or "New York Avenue" ?
Idaho might actually win something! Among Idaho's top 50 cities, we have an Idaho Street in, at minimum:
- Idaho St, American Falls
- Idaho St, Boise
- Idaho Ave, Meridian
- Idaho St, Eagle
- Idaho Ave, Caldwell
- Idaho St, Weiser
- Idaho St, McCall
- Idaho Ave, Fruitland
- Idaho Ave, Idaho Falls
- Idaho St, Pocatello
- Idaho Ave, Coeur d'Alene
- Idaho St, Twin Falls
- Idaho St, Post Falls
- Idaho St, Lewiston
- Idaho Ave, Moscow
- Idaho St, Burley
- Idaho St, Sandpoint
- Idaho St, Rathdrum
- Idaho St, Middleton
- Idaho Blvd, Emmett
- Idaho Ave, Rigby
- Idaho St, Gooding
- Idaho St, Grangeville
- Idaho Ave, Salmon
- Idaho St, Filer
- Idaho St, Wendell
- Idaho Ave, Homedale
Quote from: KCRoadFan on September 08, 2020, 07:09:15 PM
I know Chicago itself has an Illinois Street - it's one of the streets that intersects Michigan Avenue in its "Magnificent Mile" section.
Chicago also has a Chicago Ave (and 3 different L stations along said street all named "Chicago"), which I've always found amusing. Similarly, there is a Baltimore St in Baltimore.
Quote from: KCRoadFan on September 08, 2020, 10:51:21 PM
Quote from: webny99 on September 08, 2020, 09:12:24 PM
New York might be a candidate for least streets named after the state. To be honest, a street called "New York" would feel pretty out-of-place and out-of-touch in upstate NY given how much of a different world the city is from the rest of the state.
Let's put that to the test. Do Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Binghamton, Elmira, or any of the other major Upstate cities have a "New York Street" or "New York Avenue" ?
I believe there are only 3 upstate (they're all Streets): Lockport (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1674104,-78.7076954,3a,75y,8.92h,88.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0TK3GSr_ObAUgjXS0lcQbg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en), Rochester (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1527925,-77.6298331,3a,75y,86.59h,89.33t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBJXblk8Cp2wqPg9N7Pytyg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DBJXblk8Cp2wqPg9N7Pytyg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D129.70671%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en), and Mohawk (https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0129426,-74.999957,3a,75y,349.67h,95.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sdc48cKLg_gA7LRiQ0inw5A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en). Nothing I would have known about without searching, as you can see. None of them even have so much as a centerline.
Quote from: Dirt Roads on September 08, 2020, 09:01:30 PM
There are no streets named "West Virginia Street" in West Virginia. In fact, the capital city of Charleston intentionally marks streets as Street Name 'East' or 'West' so as to avoid calling the section of Virginia Street that is west of the Elk River by the state name. Hence, it's known as Virginia Street East through downtown up to the Capitol, and Virginia Street West on the Westside. Fun fact: Charleston still claims that the 1500 block of Virginia Street East is the world's longest city block.
On the other hand, both Parkersburg and Clarksburg have streets named "Virginia Avenue" that are marked "East" or "West" such that the western sections are signed as "W Virginia Avenue". South Charleston, St. Albans, Morgantown, Moundsville, Wheeling and Weirton all have streets named "Virginia Street", none of which should be confused with the state name. I've actually driven on most of these listed, with the exceptions of Clarksburg and Weirton. Another fun fact: Virginia Street is on the Wheeling Island side of the old Wheeling Suspension Bridge over part of the Ohio River, which was the world's longest of it's type for a short spell in the mid-1800s.
Wonder how many cities here have "Carolina Street" marked as "N Carolina Street"? Or south of the border as "S Carolina Street"?
There is a street in my hometown (Saginaw, MI) that is called Carolina Street. It has a section where it's N. Carolina and a section where it's S. Carolina. It's suppose to be just Carolina Street but the N. and S. makes it look like it was named after both states.
Court Street is the line between north and south on the west side of Saginaw.
A quick check of Ohio's three largest cities - they all have an Ohio Avenue (not Street) - but in all three cases it is a relatively minor street. At some point, I will research this more fully.
A related project I am working on is documenting all the streets in Cincinnati that are named after states. I think at least 40 states are represented, including some major thoroughfares such as Montana Avenue. When I complete that, I'll start a new thread.
Quote from: thspfc on September 08, 2020, 09:07:04 PM
The dark side of Monopoly property names is that the cheap and pretty much worthless properties like Mediterranean and Baltic were (and maybe still are, idk) streets in black neighborhoods of Atlantic City. I'm surprised there hasn't been any clamor to change the names of those properties or move them elsewhere on the board. Seems like a 2020 type of thing to me.
I feel like by this point the Monopoly street names are better known for being Monopoly street names than being based on Atlantic City. (I wonder how many people visit AC and think "Oh, cool, they named their streets after Monopoly!")
St. Charles Place no longer exists, as it was demolished by the President of the United States. Er. Back at his old job, I mean.
Quote from: briantroutman on September 08, 2020, 01:45:55 PM
There are a number of "Pennsylvania" streets–mostly Avenues–across the state, but they tend to be incidental side streets. I can't think of any examples in the state where a Pennsylvania Ave. is a noteworthy thoroughfare. As a name, Pennsylvania is certainly nowhere near Market, High, Broad, Water, Front, tree names (Walnut, Locust, etc.), or numbers in the pantheon of street names that are commonly applied to local streets of significance in cities and towns within the state.
Actually, I'm struck more by the use of Pennsylvania to name longer or more significant streets in cities outside Pennsylvania (most notably Washington, D.C.–also Oklahoma City, Brooklyn, N.Y., Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Denver, and others). Sometimes, this is part of a pattern of state names applied to a number of streets, but this isn't always the case.
Before JFK was assassinated, the street in Philadelphia now known as John F. Kennedy Boulevard was called Pennsylvania Boulevard.
there's at least 2 'colorado blvd's in colorado ..
in the east denver area, and north of denver, i think its weld co rd 13 thats known as colorado blvd.
there's probably more, but thats off the top of my head...
Quote from: Flint1979 on September 07, 2020, 11:09:22 PM
I know Detroit, Saginaw, Bay City, Lansing, Jackson and Kalamazoo all have streets named Michigan. There are certainly plenty of others but those cities have Michigan as a main street in some of them.
A somewhat late reply. Almost all the towns from Detroit through Kalamazoo and to the west have a Michigan Street or Avenue, as that was the name of the original US-12.
Grand Rapids also has a Michigan Street, which while it is not the basis for the house numbers (that falls to Fulton St), it is the basis for the Mile Roads counting north - Michigan St is effectively Zero Mile Road. There is no 1 Mile Rd, and 2 Mile Rd only exists in the county to the east of town.
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on December 28, 2020, 10:26:04 AM
there's at least 2 'colorado blvd's in colorado ..
in the east denver area, and north of denver, i think its weld co rd 13 thats known as colorado blvd.
FYI, those are both the same Colorado Blvd (Denver streetnames extend out into several surrounding counties). But there's also a Colorado
Av. that runs E-W through Denver. Interestingly, the Avenue doesn't intersect the Boulevard, because that point on the grid happens to be right where I-25 cuts through.
Virginia St/Ave is fairly common but never significant . Just from a quick eyeball of a map and playing around on Google Maps. There's a Virginia Street/Ave in:
Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Annandale, Lincolnia, Vienna, Richmond (street and avenue), Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Charlottesville, and likely a lot of other places in the state.
In my sampling though, it's almost never a major road in the city or area where it's located.
Quote from: usends on December 28, 2020, 03:55:48 PM
Quote from: zachary_amaryllis on December 28, 2020, 10:26:04 AM
there's at least 2 'colorado blvd's in colorado ..
in the east denver area, and north of denver, i think its weld co rd 13 thats known as colorado blvd.
FYI, those are both the same Colorado Blvd (Denver streetnames extend out into several surrounding counties). But there's also a Colorado Av. that runs E-W through Denver. Interestingly, the Avenue doesn't intersect the Boulevard, because that point on the grid happens to be right where I-25 cuts through.
Staying in the metro area, Boulder also has an unrelated Colorado Avenue that runs east from the University of Colorado main campus to Foothills Parkway.
Farther west along I-70, the main street and former business route of Idaho Springs also is Colorado Boulevard. I sometimes wonder if there's ever confusion having two Colorado Boulevard exits approximately 36 miles apart.
To the south, Colorado Springs has a Colorado Avenue that runs west from downtown through Old Colorado City.
Louisiana had more Louisiana Avenue/Street examples than I thought. 7 out of 10 of the largest cities have one. More often than not, especially in the western part of the state, there are Texas Avenues. And they're usually part of the old highway trails that led to Texas: US 80, LA 6.
iPhone
Quote from: zzcarp on December 28, 2020, 04:36:18 PM
To the south, Colorado Springs has a Colorado Avenue that runs west from downtown through Old Colorado City.
That one I knew about, as I believe it's old US 24.
Both Grand Junction and Pueblo also have a Colorado Avenue as a downtown city street. Looks like several other smaller cities have one as well: Walsenburg, Trinidad, La Junta...
I see a Washington Street in Bellingham, Kennewick, Pasco, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver and Yakima, and I'm sure there are some more elsewhere in the state.
EDIT: jakeroot already pointed that one out, so there.